In a strong  move to curb illegal street vending in Mumbai, the Bombay High Court has given the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) five weeks to issue QR code-based identity cards to 99,435 hawkers who were surveyed in May 2014. These cards will help authorities quickly identify and remove illegal hawkers, especially Bangladeshi nationals operating outside the verified list.

Anonymous Complaints System:

A division bench of Justice Ajay Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata also directed the BMC to create a system through which local residents or other hawkers can anonymously file complaints on WhatsApp or similar platforms against suspicious or illegal hawkers, especially Bangladeshi nationals, without their identities being revealed.

The bench said:

“We grant five weeks time to the BMC to issue QR generated ID Cards to the 99,435 hawkers (who were surveyed in May 2014)… We also make it clear that issuance of the ID Cards, will not create any equity in their favour…. This is only being done to identify the illegal hawkers… We further direct the BMC to come up with some mechanism so that complaints of illegal hawkers can be lodged on WhatsApp, ensuring that the identity of the complainant is not made public.”

The judges also told the  Government Pleader  to suggest legal provisions for taking action against people who create fake identity cards.

Earlier High Court  Order:

The order comes after  the High Court’s March 23 judgment, in which the BMC and Mumbai Police were directed to strictly verify the identities of hawkers and take action against Bangladeshis or immigrants involved in hawking.

After the Street Vendors Act came into force in 2014, the BMC received more than one lakh applications from hawkers  and surveyed 99,435  of them.  The court had earlier given temporary protection to these surveyed hawkers. However, this number does not include licensed hawkers whose matters  are still pending before the Town Vending Committee. 

The QR code Identity cards  are now being introduced to clearly identify legal hawkers and separate them from illegal hawkers. Anyone found hawking outside the verified list may be removed.

Court Rejects 2-Month Request:

During the hearing, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) asked the court for two months to print and distribute the identity cards, but the court refused the request.

The bench said:

“Two months time is too much… We cannot permit the continuation of illegal activities for more two months… The only solution is identification of the hawkers as to who all are among the list of 99,435 and then anyone beyond that, will have to be removed… You must have the will and desire… you can consider roping in a private entity to complete this task.”

The BMC counsel  argued that involving a private company would require a tender process and would cause delays. The court was told  that police patrols are already taking place, but the identity cards would make enforcement easier to take action against illegal hawkers. 

Justice Gadkari  questioned why the police had failed to take effective action for so many years and asked the State Government to provide funds for the process.

He observed:

“The State of Maharashtra has so much money that it is spending crores of funds on n number of schemes, giving funds to individuals for free but can’t it not use some funds for the welfare of the common man?”

The matter has now been adjourned to June 10.

Case Details: Bombay Hawkers Association vs Chairperson, Town Vending Committee (Writ Petition 2750 of 2019)